Arsenal legend Ray Parlour, says Aaron Ramsey can become as influential as Steven Gerrard. He also offers his view on Arsenal’s future and their chances in the Premier League title race in Sportlobster.
He said: “The horrendous injury affected Aaron Ramsey and it is not surprising as the midfield area is where you win tackles and try and retrieve the ball.
“The injury probably delayed his progress for around two years, but he’s recovered extremely well and this season shows he is confident.
“He scores, continues to tackle people and he also possesses a wonderful work-rate. He deserves credit, because the injury was awful and he worked incredibly hard to return to action.
“He was on his own on the training ground for around one year trying to return to his level and this is so difficult to accomplish. He is mentally stronger as a result.”
Midfield maestro Santi Cazorla and prodigy Gedion Zelalem also penned new deals and Parlour believes Arsenal are in for an exciting and trophy-winning future.
He added: “The new contracts are extremely good news for Arsenal fans. Santi Cazorla is another fine player. To offer a deal to both Aaron and Cazorla is a sign of intent from the club.
“With Aaron Ramsey, you have a lot of players, who are a similar age – Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Arsenal should look forward to a promising future if they keep hold of their prized talent.
“They achieved this before with players like Dennis Bergkamp, Robert Pires, Patrick Vieira and even myself. You grow as a team and learn to play with each other.
“People have started to believe Arsenal could win the title this season or maybe within a couple of seasons.
“You always want a quick-fix, but I believe this could be the start of a massive future for the club.
“Uncertainty remains over the future of Arsene Wenger, but I believe he will stay. He now manages a team, which is able to challenge for top honours.”
However, Parlour admits Arsenal have obstacles ahead if they want to win their first Premier League crown since 2004, with rivals Chelsea and Manchester City in the hunt.
He added: “The match against Chelsea is absolutely massive for Arsenal and hopefully they will snatch a win, but a draw is a decent result also.
“If they beat Manchester City afterwards, they have a very strong chance of winning the league because of their favourable run-in.
“The spirit of the team is fantastic. You cannot win anything if the players aren’t pulling in the same direction.
“Wenger is brilliant with man management. If you were out of favour, but always part of the team, he would always keep you involved and say you could change the game or even the season.
“He was very good at keeping you focused on the task. This is an important factor and his squad is very supportive of each other.”
To read for the full blog, please click the link:
Paul M. Banks owns The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. An MBA and Fulbright scholar, he’s also a frequent analyst on multiple news talk radio stations. The former NBC Chicago and Washington Times contributor has also been featured on the History Channel.